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SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an animated character created by late marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, for the Nickelodeon television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Serving as the eponymous protagonist of the series, he is an energetic and optimistic anthropomorphize sea sponge who lives in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. He works as a fry cook at a restaurant called the Krusty Krab, who goes on various adventures and endeavors with his various friends, including a dim-witted starfish named Patrick and an octopus named Squidward. SpongeBob's show debuted on May 1, 1999, on Nickelodeon to worldwide critical acclaim, and has since won numerous awards, spawned three feature films, inspired a Broadway show and become the highest-rated series ever to air on Nickelodeon. History with the Macy's Parade SpongeBob was introduced to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as a balloon in 2004, to promote his first-ever feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, and has since become one of the longest-lasting character balloons. The SpongeBob balloon is also said to be the first-ever square-shaped balloon in the parade's (at the time of his debut) 78-year-history, using 600 internal tie-in lines. After 2006, he was retired from the parade, but only to return in 2008 after a brief leap of absence. The balloon quickly became a frequent flyer, making appearances until the 2012 Parade, and was retired shortly after due to the balloon extremely showing its age during its last couple appearances. Despite this, the balloon still survives as of 2016. A new SpongeBob balloon was introduced in the 2013 Parade. This time, he is based on his appearance as seen in the more recent SpongeBob episodes from Seasons 4 onwards, and sports a Santa Claus hat with a jingle bell attached to the back of it. The following year, in 2014, SpongeBob would become Macy's Holiday Ambassador, with a special plush being sold at select Macy's stores and a cold-air inflatable being perched upon a Macy's marquee. This balloon was retired after the 2018 Parade. Due to its young age, it now resides at the Macy's Float Warehouse. The following year, in 2019, SpongeBob's franchise was celebrating the "Best Year Ever", as part of its 20th-anniversary celebrations. As a means to promote the celebration, a brand-new SpongeBob balloon was paired up with his loyal pet sea snail, Gary, who is perched on his owner's back. Additionally, it is highly suspected that this balloon also paid homage to Stephen Hillenburg, as well to promote his new movie, Sponge on the Run, and his spin-off series, Kamp Koral, SpongeBob's Under Years. Of note, news articles have stated that this balloon was the biggest crowd-pleaser on its debut, and got the best reception. Because of this, he will possibly appear for many more years to come. Other Appearances In addition to SpongeBob's reappearance as a balloon in 2017, his Broadway Musical with the same name starring Ethan Slater as SpongeBob also made a performance as one of the four Broadway Musical performances in the NBC telecast. Incidents * 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2011 all had incidents where SpongeBob snagged onto a lamppost. All these times, however, he was freed. Defects * During all of the original balloon's appearances, his arms were bent. This was most likely caused by the weight of the hands compared to the skinny arms of the balloon. * Due to the touch-and-go nature and overall old age of the balloon, throughout its final three appearances in 2010, 2011 and 2012, wrinkles became glaringly obvious throughout the balloon. * In 2011, SpongeBob's left leg was partially deflated, possibly due to the balloon's age. * In 2012, SpongeBob's right hand and shoe lost helium overnight, most likely due to the balloon being unable to hold helium because of its old age. * In 2019, SpongeBob's right leg was slightly bent. The balloon itself, however, remained undamaged. Trivia * With his 2019 balloon, this makes SpongeBob not only the youngest cartoon character to get a third balloon, but also the youngest-introduced character balloon to get more than two variants as well. Music Below, you will find the music tracks used during the balloon's appearance on the NBC telecast. * "F.U.N." song instrumental (2004-2006, 2008-2013) * SpongeBob SquarePants theme marching band arrangement (2014-Present) Gallery Gallery: SpongeBob SquarePants Category:2004 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2019 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Comeback Balloon in the Parade Category:TV Characters Category:Cartoon Characters Category:Movie Characters Category:2000s Balloons Category:2010s Balloons Category:Male Balloons Category:Raven Aerostar Balloons Category:Balloons that were in an accident Category:Big Balloons Category:Multi-Character Balloons Category:Current Balloons Category:Broadway Musicals Category:Nickelodeon Balloons